Automatic switch.



J. L. POLK.

AUTOMATIC SWITCH. APPLIEIATION FILED SEPT. 2, 1910.

Patented Oct. 31, 1911.

2 SHBETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES:

Afro/Mrs J. L. POLK.

AUTOMATIC SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 22, 1910.

Patented Oct. 31, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

i/VVENTUR 1/0/2224 1 0% UNETED TATE$ PATENT onion.

JOHN L. POLK, OF TROY. NEW YORK.

vauro vmrrc swI'rcH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

I Application filed September 2, 1910. Serial No. 580,164.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it knownthat 1, JOHN L. Ponn, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of 'vide an automatic switch Troy, in the county of ,Rensselaer and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Automat-ic Switch, of which the fol "gish in its action.

More particularly stated, I provide a switch having a lever movable by hand in one direction and movable in the opposite direction by the action of a spring and against the cushioning pressure of a dashpot for the purpose of retarding the movement or rendering it sluggish, the idea be ing that when the switch lever is in one of its extreme positions it closes one electric circuit and a few moments afterward opens that circuitand automatically closes another.

My invention is of special value in connectionwithinternal combustion engines,

such as are used upon automobiles, launches,

aeroplanes and the like.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of refv erence indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

- Figure 1 is a plan view of the switch complete, the lever occupying its extreme position to the left and closing one of the circuits; Fig.2 shows the mechanism appearing in F ig. 1, the movable parts, however, having shifted their position slightly and being upon their return to normal position; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 8-3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow;

3 Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section substantially 45 on the line -1 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrow and showing the details of the dashpot; and Fig. 5 is a diagram of the wires and .electric connections.

At 6 is a switch lever, made preferably of metal and mounted to swing upon a pivot 7. Theswitch lever carries two cont-act blades 8, 9, separated from each other.

At 10, 11 are two contact buttons mounted upon a block 10 of insulating material. Two wires 12, 13 are connected with the contact buttons 10. 11. At 14, 15 are two l upon a block 14? "other contact buttons which. are mounted and are insulated therethese contact but from. Connected with tons are wires 16, 17. p y

l he switch lever and various other parts are supported-upon a plate 18.

At 19 is a plate connected by hinges 20 with one end of the switch lever 6 and adapted to swing relatively to the same. The plate 19 constitutes practically a handle for the switch lever, though it has also other purposes hereinafter described.

Patented Oct. 31, 1911. 1

Mounted rigidly upon the-switch lever 6 are two bearings 21, 22 and extending through the latter is a sliding bar 23. A link 24 is connectediwith one end of this bar by aid of a pivot pin 25, and "the opposite end of the link is, by aid of a pivot pin 26. connected with lugs 27, the latterbeingrigidly mounted upon the plate 19. A leaf spring 28 is provided with a base 29 integral withit, this base being secured rigidly to the plate 18 by aid of screws 30. T he sliding rod 23 is provided at its upper end with a head 31, the latter carrying a pin 32 which spring'QS. By grasping the handle 19 by hand and tilting its outer or free end upward, the sliding rod 23 is shifted into the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, and in this event the guide pin 32 clears the leaf spring 28. .This leaf spring bears against a pin 33 carried by theswitch lever 6' and tends to swing the lever to the right according to Figs. 1 and 2, provided the pin is in engagement with the leaf spring 28, or in other words, provided the handle 19 normally engages the leaf occupies the position indicated in the figures L just mentioned.

ing thus of substantially L shape) is mounted-upon a pivot 35 carried by the switch lever. A tensile spring 313 is connected with the latch 34 and with the switch lever.

At37 is a pin carried by the switch lever and at 38 is another pin carried by the sliding rod 23. gages the adjacent end of the latch 3st.

Mounted upon the plate 18 is a fastening 40 and partially supported by the latter is a bellows 41 provided with heads 42, 13. tending from the head 42 is a pin 44. The head 42 is provided with a valve 41 open ing inwardly and the head 43 is provided with a sm'all air ve'nt 5L3, which is adjust The pin 38 normally en- I I able by aid of a screw 43". By turning this screw to any desired extent, the operator may at will control the size of the air vent.

The bellows and parts immediately assoupward-that is, into the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig, 3'th'e spring in question will hold the handle in this position. The spring 45 is secured to a bolt 47 which is secured to the plate 18. The spring 45 normally tends to keep the dashpot distended, and to maintain. the lever 6 in its extreme position to the left according to Fig. 1, as shown in this figure. Astop pin 48 is also mounted upon this plate.

At 49 is an escutcheon mounted rigidly upon the'plate 18.

The handle '19 is provided with an extending port-ion 50 (see Fig. carrying a bolt 51 which is slidably mounted in a compartment 52. Disposed within this compartment and pressing against the bolt is a spring 53. )Vhenever the handlelt) is tilted, the portion 50 extends laterallv from the switch lever ,6 so that the bolt 51 may snap into the escutcheon 49 and thus .hold the switch lever stationary.

At 54 is an internal combustion engine and at 55 is one of the spark plugs for con trollingthe same. I l

At 56 is amagneto to which the wire 16 leads.

At 57 is a wire and at 58 is a spark coil, whichlis connected with the wire 57 by aid of a short wire 60. A .wire 59 is also connected .with the spark coil 58. The wires 57, 60 are connected with a wire 61, which closed and may be traced as follows: mag

neto 56 wire 16, contact button 14, contact bladei9, contact button 15, wires 17, 63,

spark plug 55, wire 64, timer 65, wire 59, spark coil 58, wire 57, back to magneto" 56. Suppose, now, that the internal combustion engine comes'to a standstill and the operator wishes to start it into action. He grasps the handle 19 and by its aid swings the switch lever 6 to the left according to A wire 64 is connected Figs. 1 and 2. The cont-act blade 9 is thusdrawn out of engagement with the contact buttons 14, 15, and the contact blade 9 is moved into engagement with the contact buttons 10, 11. A battery :circuit is now completed and may be traced as follows:' battery 62, wires 61, 60, coil 68, wire 59, timer 65, wire 64, spark plug 55,wires 63,13, contact button 11, blade 8, contact button 10, wire 12, back to battery 62. Thiscircuit (controllable by the timer 65) energizes the spark plug 55. The length of the contactknife .8 being sutfic ient to enable it to extend to a considerable distance past the contact buttons 10, 11 (see Fig. 1), a considerable retrograde movement of the Switch lever 6 is necessary to disengage the contact blade 8 from its contact buttons. switch lever 6 is moved to its limit .to the left, according to Fig. 2, and is released, the contact blade 8 begins to slide upon the contact members 10, 11, but nevertheless for a few-moments maintains the battery circuit closed. During the movement of the switch lever 6 to the left, the portion 34 of the latch 34,-by butting the movement of the pin As soon as the 44, allows the spring 45 to contact, thereby distending the dashpot to its full capacity, the pin 44 now occupying the position indicatec in Fig. 1. When, therefore, after the completion of the movement of the switch lever 6 to. the-left and the switch lever,

under control of the leaf spring 28 is moving to the right according to Figs. 1 and 2, the portion. 34 of the latch 34 now lodges against the pin 44 and the further movement of the switch lever 6 causes compression of the dashpot. The lever 6 now moves along at a snails pace, the contact blade 8 thus remaining for a brief time in engagementwith the contact buttons 10, 11 (see Fig. 2). At last, when the dashpot is compressed considerably, the contact blade 8 leaves the contact buttons 10, 11 and a moment later the contact blade 9 engages the contact buttons 14, 15. The battery circuit above traced is thus broken and the socalled magneto circuit is thus completed.

As maybe seen from the foregoing description, the actionof my device may thus be summarizedLThe switch lever 6 being swung to'the left by hand, the spark plug is energized for a little time by aid of the battery, andthe-brief time in question having elapsed, is energized by the magneto. Since the magneto is not running while the machine as a whole is standing still, the use of the battery circuit fora short time-efor even a few SGCOIldk-IHELY be duly appreciated. When, however, the engine is once in motion, the magneto circuit is far more satisfactory than the battery circuit and takes its place: Suppose, now, that the op erator desires to throw out. of action both battery eircuitand the magneto circuit.

Suppose, further, thathe wishes. to take precautions to prevent the shaking or accidental movement of any part'from completing either one ofthese circuits. He grasps the v handle 19 and by tilting it into the position indicated by dottedlinesasabove described and shown. in Fig, 3, he also swings the switch lever 6 uponthe pivot 7 as a center, moving the switch lever into such position that the portion 50 of the handle 19 is brought into registry with the escutcheon 49. v The bolt 51 now snaps into the escut'cheon and thus holds the switch lever'6 in such position "that neither of the contact blades 8, 9 is in engagement with the contact buttons associated with it; In swinging the handle 19 into the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, the link 24 moves the sliding rod 23 in the general direction of pletely out of commission for the time being. Lv

I do not limit-myself to the precise form or shape shown for any of the parts.- Neither said actuating mechanism.-

' do limit myself to the precise arrangement.

of the elements, the scope otmyiinvention being commensurate with my claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent:

l. The combination of a contact lever, a

spring for moving the same in one direction, a handle mountednpon said contact lever and movable relatively 'to the latter,

and mechanism connected with said handle and with said contact lever for disengaging the latter from the control of said spring. I

2. The combination of a circuit to be opened, a circuit to be closed, means includmentioned circuit, actuating mechanism for shifting the position of said member, a handle carried by said movable member and connected with said actuating mechanism for disengaging said movable member from In testimony whereof I have signed my mg a movable memberfor opening said first -ment1oned circuit and closing sald second name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. v I

JOHN L. POLK.

IVitnesse s: v

' WALTON HARRIsoN,

PHILIP D. RoLLHAUs.

'Gopies of this'patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents;

Washington, D. C. 

